In trading on Monday, shares of Belo Corp. (BLC) were yielding above the 4% mark based on its quarterly dividend (annualized to $0.20), with the stock changing hands as low as $4.84 on the day. Dividends are particularly important for investors to consider, because historically speaking dividends have provided a considerable share of the stock market's total return. To illustrate, suppose for example you purchased shares of the iShares Russell 3000 ETF (IWV) back on 5/31/2000 — you would have paid $78.27 per share. Fast forward to 5/31/2011 and each share was worth $80.78 on that date, a mere $2.51 or 3.2% increase over eleven years. But now consider that you collected a whopping $9.69 per share in dividends over the same period, increasing your return to 20.27%. Even with dividends reinvested, that only amounts to an average annual total return of about 1.7%; so by comparison collecting a yield above 4% would appear considerably attractive if that yield is sustainable. Belo Corp. (BLC) is a member of the Russell 3000, giving it special status as one of the largest 3000 companies on the U.S. stock markets.
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In general, dividend amounts are not always predictable and tend to follow the ups and downs of profitability at each company. In the case of Belo Corp., looking at the history chart for BLC below can help in judging whether the most recent dividend is likely to continue, and in turn whether it is a reasonable expectation to expect a 4% annual yield.

BLC Dividend History

Date

Div*

05/13/09

0.075

02/11/09

0.075

11/12/08

0.075

08/13/08

0.075

05/14/08

0.075

02/11/08

3.270

01/08/08

0.125

11/14/07

0.125

08/15/07

0.125

05/09/07

0.125

02/07/07

0.125

11/08/06

0.125

08/09/06

0.125

05/10/06

0.100

02/08/06

0.100

11/08/05

0.100

08/10/05

0.100

05/11/05

0.100

02/09/05

0.100

11/09/04

0.095

08/11/04

0.095

05/12/04

0.095

02/11/04

0.095

11/12/03

0.095

08/13/03

0.095

05/14/03

0.075

02/12/03

0.075

11/13/02

0.075

08/14/02

0.075

05/15/02

0.075

02/06/02

0.075

11/14/01

0.075

08/15/01

0.075

05/09/01

0.075

02/07/01

0.075

11/08/00

0.070

08/09/00

0.070

05/10/00

0.070

02/09/00

0.070

11/09/99

0.070

08/11/99

0.070

05/12/99

0.060

02/10/99

0.060

11/10/98

0.060

08/12/98

0.060

05/13/98

0.060

02/11/98

0.060

11/12/97

0.055

08/13/97

0.055

05/21/97

0.055

01/13/97

0.055

11/13/96

0.055

08/14/96

0.055

04/02/96

0.055

02/14/96

0.040

11/08/95

0.040

08/09/95

0.040

* Data may be adjusted for splits; we are not responsible for data errors; always verify data with the company.

BLC operates in the Television & Radio sector, among companies like Dish Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH) which is off about 8.1% today, and Virgin Media Inc (VMED) trading lower by about 9.5%. Below is a three month price history chart comparing the stock performance of BLC, versus DISH and VMED.

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